


Every time you fall in love, you get a tally mark.

by percyinpanties



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi, Past Character Death, Percabeth - sort of, Polyamory, Tally marks au, past lukercy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 10:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3565898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/percyinpanties/pseuds/percyinpanties
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every time you fall in love, you get a red tally mark. Is your love requited, it turns black, if your love dies, the mark will scar.<br/>Percy has many marks, and over time, he becomes afraid of getting a new one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every time you fall in love, you get a tally mark.

 

 

 

Percy had always been easy to fall in love, even before he knew what love really meant. His body was covered in marks, most of them were red, some black and very few even scarred.   
He had gotten his first tally mark when he was four years old and fell in love with a girl in his preschool. It wasn’t love, of course, Percy hadn’t seen it as such, but he cared about his friend so much that it left a red, neat mark on the back of his hand.   
His mother had been the only one not to be angry with him, she herself had a lot of marks. She told him not to worry, some people loved easy, and while it could be a flaw, it would be a blessing for those Percy chose to keep close to his heart.   
Over the years, Percy gathered many marks, never one of them turning black. He never saw it as a rejection, people loved differently, and Percy just loved a lot.   
When he came to Camp-Half Blood, he was still carrying nothing but red lines. They reached down both his arms and started going down his back. Many eyed him vary, most campers just scoffed at the stupid, naïve boy falling in love with everyone he met.   
Within his first week, he gained two new marks, and over time, both of them should turn black. One he always held close to his heart, the other would end up being the mark that hurt him most.   
For the first time, he truly was infatuated with someone, someone who was not just a mentor but a friend to him. It wasn’t the love he had felt for all the other people that had left their mark on him, but more. It was confusing and exciting and in the end, it was painful, as the first person who left a  **black mark**  was the first person to break Percy’s heart. When Luke turned on them, Percy stopped believing in his marks.   
He still got them, Percy never stopped loving, but they didn’t mean as much to him anymore. It took years for the next to turn black. When it did, the joy of love that was requited again was soon overshadowed by a grim and ugly reminder, as Percy’s first black mark burned a scar into his skin the day Luke died at his own hand.   
His love shared this mark, as she had loved Luke just as much as he had himself, and in the end they managed to bond over their loss. He loved Annabeth truly and fully, and it was much more than a red-mark-love, but it also wasn’t the same he had felt for Luke.   
In the year after, Percy discovered another dark side of the marks when Nico showed him the single red mark he’d desperately wanted to turn black, the one mark Nico thought Percy had never matched with an own. And while Percy didn’t understand why he hadn’t the power to turn Nico’s mark black, he was thankful for it. Percy had gotten marks for loved ones that would never live up to how much he cared for the Son of Hades. And while he knew there was a mark on his chest that was for Nico alone, he also knew it was a mark from a different love than the one that had etched the red line into Nico’s skin.   
By then, Percy dreaded ever getting a black mark again.  
  
The war with Gaea came, and when it was done all the new red lines Percy had gathered couldn’t make up for the few that had scarred, for the few that would always hurt him.

* * *

Jason always guarded his heart. He cared for many people, and he loved few, but never left a single one of them a mark on his body.   
It changed when he met Piper, the day he admitted his feelings for her, fully and with no second thoughts, a single black line appeared on his wrist, and Jason understood what joy the marks could bring.  
He never expected to get a second one, and even though Piper had a few red lines next to the one black mark that was Jason’s, he felt happy with their situation. He wavered when Piper got a second black mark, this one a curtesy of Annabeth, but both girls insisted that their love was different than Jason’s love for Piper. They made it work and by the time they set the sails of the Argo II, Jason was grateful for the marks, showing him something he wouldn’t have seen without.  
Jason’s second mark was a shock for him. He discovered it the evening after they had fled from New Rome, he hadn’t noticed it appear, just saw the thin red line when he sat down on his bed. For a moment, he wasn’t sure who could have caused it at first, but the next morning a nagging suspicion set in. Of course, Jason would get his first red line from the boy who’d gotten a mark from everyone he met.

* * *

By the end of the war, Jason had one black and two red marks. While he and Piper weren’t in love like they had been at the start, they still shared a connection deep enough to carry each others’ black lines. The red mark that Percy had given him at the start of their first quest hadn’t changed, and Jason wasn’t any closer to having figured it out, even less when shortly before the end of their fights a second red line appeared next to it. He immediately knew whom it was from, he had watched a similar mark appear on Nico’s pale skin. They didn’t figure out why, if both of them carried each others’ marks, they wouldn’t turn black, not until Percy told him that he believed it wasn’t just about loving each other, but loving each other the same way.   
Percy showed them the mark Nico had given him, and judging by Nico’s shocked reaction, he hadn’t seen the fine red line on Percy’s chest before. Jason couldn’t help but ask Percy if he carried a mark for him as well, and while Jason wondered how Percy even managed to keep track of who had left which mark on his body, Percy showed him another red line on his shoulder.  
  
Somehow, knowing that their marks were reciprocated, but would never turn black hurt more than thinking there was just a mark waiting to appear on someone else’s body. 

  
Things quietened down after the wars, and the three boys grew closer than they were before. For the first time, Percy could admit to someone that he was afraid of getting a black mark again. Even though the one that connected him and Annabeth was true and pure, it never going to make up for the one Luke had given him, for the one that never stopped burning. The night he confessed this, Jason and Nico decided to cover up their own two red marks, not needing a reminder of how much they could hurt. They offered Percy a bracelet to cover up the scarred black line on his wrist, but he couldn’t bring himself to take it. 

* * *

Two years passed and no one got new marks. The boys had decided to move to New York, being three of the strongest half-bloods they could take care of themselves even outside of either camp. The boundaries of their friendship were blurred until they barely were anymore. Most nights, they slept in the same bed, dwelling in the comfort of being close to each other. Sometimes they’d kiss, but never more than that. They were circling around each other waiting to collide. And collide they did, just when they had stopped waiting for it.

* * *

Percy hated being the first to get up, but they had their set routine, and while Percy loved getting the shower first, he much rather would stay in bed for a while. When the alarm clock went off, Percy lay in the centre of the bed, Jason was cuddled against his back, an arm draped over him, while Nico had curled himself into Percy’s embrace, forehead resting on Percy’s chest. 

There was no way he could get out of bed without waking both of them, so he didn’t even try. He wound himself out of their arms and legs, nearly falling over Jason in the process and then stumbled toward the closet. He got his clothes and a clean towel. Behind him Nico had crawled out of the bed as well, his long hair hiding his face. He handed Percy a hairband and grimaced. They had gone through this morning routine often enough now not to comment on it anymore. Percy carded his hands through Nico’s hair, untangling the worst knots, and then put them up in a messy ponytail. He kissed Nico’s cheek and the ghost of a smile hushed over the smaller boy’s face when Percy passed him to go to the bathroom. Jason would make no move to get out of bed, not until Percy was done showering. There was no use fighting over the bathroom with a demigod who controlled the water. While Percy showered, Nico usually made coffee, before taking a shower himself while Percy got Jason to give up the warmth of the bed and make some breakfast with him. When Nico would clear the bathroom, Percy would probably brush his hair, partly because Nico couldn’t be bothered to do it himself, partly because Percy enjoyed doing it more than he cared to admit. They’d eat together and then head of to work and classes, it was the same comforting routine they had every morning.  
  
This morning though, Percy had his shirt half pulled off, the collar still hanging from his neck and the rest of the shirt bunched on his chest, when Nico walked in.   
“Percy is my shirt still-”   
He stopped mid-sentence and Percy caught his eyes in the mirror. Nico’s eyes widened, but he didn’t look as much shocked as he looked hurt. Percy turned around, frown knitting his brows together, the shirt still dangling around his neck.  
“What is it?” He asked softly, reaching out for him but Nico took a step back, swallowed and then met Percy’s eyes. Percy could see the tears swimming in them.   
“The mark.” Nico rasped out, every word seeming to cause him pain.   
Percy looked down on himself, but Nico’s mark was still obscured by the shirt. Percy gripped the colour to pull the shirt fully over his head, needing to see himself what was wrong with Nico’s mark on him. It couldn’t be gone, could it? Percy had never lost a single mark, why would he now?   
“Jason’s mark.”   
Nico nearly chocked out the words now, and when Percy had finally wrenched his head out of his shirt, a tear rolled down Nico’s cheek. The boy quickly looked away, trying to hide it from Percy, who absolutely didn’t understand what was going on. He thought something was wrong with Nico’s line, not Jason’s.   
“It’s black.”   
At the words, Percy’s gaze shifted from Nico, who wasn’t even looking at him now, to Jason, who stood in the door with an unreadable expression on his face. Percy looked down on his chest and indeed, where Nico’s red line was supposed to be, a dark black mark was showing on Percy’s skin. He whirled around to look at it in the mirror and heard Jason’s sharp intake of breath behind him. Percy turned back around, now absolutely confused, then back to the mirror to take a look at his shoulder.   
This wasn’t real. Not just Nico’s, but Jason’s mark had turned black as well. Percy couldn’t stop staring, eyes drifting back and forth between the two marks.   
For years, he had been afraid of getting a new one, and now he had two.

“Nico.” Percy heard Jason say behind him and remembered the hurt look on Nico’s face. It made sense now, he must have seen the black line and thought that, after years of waiting for his own to turn, it was Jason who ended up with the black mark. He slowly walked toward the younger boy, and when he reached for him this time, Nico didn’t move away. Jason had come up on Nico’s other side, and when Percy cupped Nico’s face with one hand to make him look up again, Jason rested a hand at the small of Nico’s back.   
“My marks turned black. Jason’s and yours.” Percy was speaking so softly, he was worried that maybe Nico wouldn’t hear him. He didn’t dare speaking louder, afraid that if he raised his voice, Nico would turn and run, maybe thinking he was being made fun of or worse, that he wasn’t wanted here. When Nico raised his head, Percy gently wiped away his tears, giving him a small smile.  
Nico’s eyes skirted from searching Percy’s down to scanning Percy’s chest, bringing up a single finger to trace the mark that was now dark and prominent on Percy’s skin. Then, Nico brought his fingers down to his own wrist, where a broad bracelet was covering his own marks. When he untied the knot and the soft leather stripe fell to the ground, two dark black lines were in the place of the red ones Nico had covered up more than two years ago. Percy turned his head to look at Jason, who was smiling at both of them. His eyes were sparkling, and Percy wasn’t sure whether it was happiness, or whether Jason was close to tears himself. Like Nico, he untied the knots of his leather bracelet and just like Nico,  it revealed two lines as black as Percy’s own.   
Jason laughed, carefree and happy, Percy’s frown softened until he was wearing a grin himself, and even Nico couldn’t help smiling.   
They’d found love where they had stopped looking for it and Percy found that black marks weren’t quite as scary when a love like Jason’s and Nico’s was attached to them.

 


End file.
